Brookstone Declares Bankruptcy And Closes Stores

The quirky novelty store dedicated to tech-centric home goods is closing the doors to all 102 of its stores after filing for bankruptcy.

On Thursday, Brookstone released a statement that they would be declaring bankruptcy for the second time in four years. The closures come as a result of declining customer interest in shopping malls, where Brookstone sees most of their customers.

Those of the stores that aren’t in malls are in airports, which Brookstone will actually be selling instead of closing. So, if you’re an avid Brookstone fan, you may still be able to have a Brookstone experience at one of their sold airport locations.


It is unclear how many employees will be affected by the bankruptcy and 102 closures.

For over fifty years, Brookstone has been a staple American specialty store selling novelty tools, quirky gadgets, and more. Most of their traffic comes from shoppers that mill about in malls who are often looking for a place to rest– they’re known for massage chairs customers can try out. A recent shift to online shopping in the past decade has hurt their business model drastically.

With larger business like Amazon offering similar novelty items, Brookstone was unable to keep up. Even those customers that did make it in to the Brookstone store could now look for similar items sold online, and often for much less. Sharper Image, Brookstone’s main competitor, faced a similar fate when they filed for bankruptcy in 2008 after a surge in online shopping.

Brookstone is currently owned by Sanpower, a Chinese conglomerate, that purchased Brookstone for $173 million in 2014 at a bankruptcy auction. In their bankruptcy filing, the store admitted to up to $500 million in debts against assets of $50–100 million.